01/07/2025
Masbate’s rodeo reflects real ranch work. This is all about proper cattle handling, not hurting them. We celebrate tradition with compassion. 🤠
EDITORIAL: Rodeo is not Animal Cruelty: The Misunderstood Culture of Ranching and Rural Heritage
“Rodeos are cruel.”
This blanket statement, circulated by the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), is not just misleading—it represents a deeper issue in our society: the dangerous consequences of misunderstanding rural heritage, agricultural practice, and livestock training. When advocacy oversimplifies and equates rodeo sports with brutality, it fails to recognize the nuanced, practical, and culturally rooted aspects of animal handling that rural communities—especially in places like Masbate—have long observed.
Let’s be clear: rodeo is not bullfighting. Rodeo events do not exist for the purpose of killing, torturing, or bleeding animals for spectacle. There is no matador with a sword. There are no fatal injuries intended. Instead, rodeo is a skill-based demonstration rooted in animal husbandry, livestock management, and agricultural tradition. It’s where agricultural students and ranchers are trained in real-life scenarios on how to manage large livestock during vaccinations, transport, or emergencies—scenarios that are part and parcel of raising animals for food, labor, or breeding.
The viral image of a young cow swimming into the ocean was unfortunate and striking, yes—but let’s not sensationalize an isolated incident and use it to demonize an entire community’s practice. PAWS paints a picture of “baby cows” being mauled by adults, which is not only inaccurate but also disrespectful to the veterinarians, agriculturists, and animal handlers who uphold animal welfare standards during these events. The rodeo participants are not gladiators thirsting for violence; they are future stewards of agriculture, many of them veterinary students, learning how to safely and responsibly interact with animals that will later be part of the food system.
Unlike bullfighting in Spain, where the end goal is death, Philippine rodeo emphasizes control, timing, and teamwork. And yes, the animals may feel stress during the event—but so do they during transport, vaccination, or branding, all of which are part of regulated agricultural practice. This does not equate to cruelty. Cruelty, by legal and ethical standards, involves the deliberate and unnecessary infliction of pain, suffering, or death. If rodeos were inherently cruel, they wouldn’t be sanctioned by the Bureau of Animal Industry, regulated by veterinary experts, and widely participated in by academic institutions committed to animal welfare.
It’s also important to address the claim that “most rodeo animals are visibly thin or malnourished.” This is a gross generalization. Animals selected for rodeo are often surplus livestock—true—but many are not diseased nor disposable. In fact, rodeo offers them an extension of life, compared to those directly sent to slaughter. Injured animals are given immediate veterinary attention, and records from past events show that the injury rate remains low—not just for humans, but also for animals. Unfortunately, PAWS claims about “undocumented” injuries are based on anecdotal evidence, not empirical data.
PAWS also asserts that “we are not a cattle country.” But that’s missing the point. The rodeo is not about becoming a cowboy country—it is about preserving the identity of agricultural provinces like Masbate, the cattle capital of the Philippines. Canceling rodeo events not only strips communities of their traditions but undermines decades of efforts in agricultural education and livestock development.
Rather than calling for an outright ban, we should be advocating for better regulation, transparent reporting, and animal welfare guidelines strictly enforced by both the Department of Agriculture and event organizers. Let’s promote ethical rodeo, not abolish it.
To end, no one is arguing against the importance of animal welfare. But welfare must go hand in hand with cultural respect, practical training, and balanced judgment. We cannot allow advocacy to turn into misinformation. Rodeo, in its proper form, is not cruelty—it is community, culture, and care in action.
Let us not silence our farmers and students. Let us listen, learn, and support agriculture—without being misled by emotional appeals detached from on-the-ground realities.
Photo | Travelista PH
